Chapter Fifteen: Things that go bump in the night.

Ouija Board: DE

…………….

((Yadonushi, you've defied me again. Would you like another 'lesson?' I know you enjoy them…))

(No…please…)

Bakura laughed and drove one of the Ring's tines into Ryou's chest. The teenager screamed, but no sound came out.

((Frighten easily, don't you?)) A sigh. ((When will you accept that you mean nothing to me? You know that the only reason you came into being was to be my host, a vessel for my plans.)) Bakura laughed, the sound low and menacing. ((Come now, my host. You're a very special person. It's a privilege to have me living inside you. You don't know how lucky you are.))

(D-don't…)

((Don't what? You're not arguing with me, are you host? Why bother to argue anyway? You know I'm right. I'm always right.))

(You're not supposed to be doing this…you can't…)

((My landlord, you're in denial again. I can do whatever I want.))

((You don't know how lucky you are.))

((When will you accept that you mean nothing to me?))

((Nothing…))

((Nothing…))

((Nothi-))

………………

Ryou shot upright, realising seconds later that he was drenched in cold sweat. Relief made him shake uncontrollably. What had it been, anyway? He knew it had been a dream. Only a dream. But had it actually happened? Or was it just the fragmented, jumbled up pieces showing what his life had been like days before? He wasn't sure.

"Ryou, are you okay?"

He managed to give Yugi a weak smile. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were screaming in your sleep," the tri-coloured boy supplied nervously.

"It was just a bad dream. Don't worry about it." It was beyond easy to lie to Yugi. He was so trusting he never seemed to want to think people were lying anyway.

((I still scare you, don't I?))

(Don't be stupid.) He replied a little too quickly, wanting everyone to just leave him alone. Especially his other half.

((Ryou, don't lie to me. I can feel your fear. You can't hide stuff like that from me.))

(I don't know what you're talking about,) the hikari replied abruptly.

"Ryou? Ryou?"

The teenager was not disappointed at the interruption. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said you need to get up now. There's something everyone needs to see."

Ryou sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fists as he got up, stretching. His body stiffened in amazement. "What the hell…?"

"Exactly." Yugi followed his gaze.

The site looked as if it had been struck by a hurricane. Blankets were strewn all around them, covered in mud, and the firewood had been scattered to the winds. What was more, several trees had been uprooted, and one had been snapped clean in half. Ryou felt a deep sadness flow through him like an icy river at this. He had always liked trees.

"It…it must have been some kind of freak wind or something…" But what kind of wind would throw their possessions everywhere, while leaving themselves untouched?

"That's what we all thought at first. But then Lyra spotted this." Yugi guided him over to one of the few trees still standing, and Ryou saw that its trunk was smoking faintly.

"Yugi? Is this your deck?" Malik ran over, holding something in his hands.

The Puzzle-holder went whiter than paper. "Y-yes! What happened to it?"

"I've no idea. I just found them lying on the ground while I was trying to clear up. I think the rest of them are about somewhere..."

"Look, there's one over here." Ryou pointed, and Yugi hastily stooped down and picked it up.

"There are still loads missing! I have to look for them!" He took the pitifully small pile of cards from Malik and started searching the ground.

"Why would Yugi's deck end up like that?" Ryou asked in mounting confusion. "He keeps it in his pocket. Someone must have removed it – there's no chance of any sort of wind blowing it out."

"I know what you mean," Malik said slowly. "Why just throw the cards around? Why not take it?" He reached into his pocket cautiously. "Hmmm. My deck is untouched. How about yours?"

Ryou hastily put a hand in his pocket, and felt his fingers close over the familiar shape. To his surprise it felt slightly warm, as if it had been recently used. "…No, mine's fine too." He decided not to mention the heat. He was probably imagining it anyway.

Yugi was still hunting for his cards. He had found most of them, but Dark Magician was missing, and he was struggling to fight down a feeling of rising panic.

((Over there. Behind that rock.)) Yami's voice was weaker than usual.

(Arigato, aibou.) The card was lying facedown on the ground, and Yugi picked it up carefully. He turned it over, and the picture of the Dark Magician gazed meaningfully back at him. Yugi could have sworn it winked, and he frowned slightly.

(Did you see that too?)

((Yes. Well, you know what they say. If only the cards could talk…))

(Yeah.) Yugi replaced the card in his deck and put it back into his pocket.

…………

After a lot of discussion, the group agreed that two people would stay awake that night and watch for danger. Will stooped down and pick up some sticks of firewood. They were useless for burning now, as they were already black and crumbling. He used the subtle knife to trim five pieces all to the same length, then chopped an extra inch off the last two. When he grasped them in his fist no one could tell which were the long ones.

"People with short sticks stay awake tonight." He held his hand out to Malik, who picked one.

"Long." There was slight relief in his voice- as a Tomb Keeper he had spent many nights watching over pyramids, and those long, monotonous nights had taught him to value his sleep.

Lyra was next. "Short." She looked slightly excited.

((Second to the right,)) Yami whispered.

(What?)

((I take it you want to sleep tonight?))

(Oh yeah.)

Yugi drew the piece of wood out of Will's hand. "Long."

Ryou reached out. "…Short." The word was said with no emotion at all. He didn't know whether he was glad or not. At least I won't get nightmares again tonight. I'll probably be in one.

((Optimistic, as usual,)) Bakura muttered.

……………

That night, while everyone else was asleep, Ryou and Lyra lay on top of their sleeping bags, talking quietly in an effort to stay awake. Lyra had brewed a pot of tea earlier and between sips she gave her companion a detailed account of her life in Oxford, and her adventures with Will. She would have done so at the beginning, but she and Will hadn't developed the same feelings of trust for this trio as they had done now. Ryou listened with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, his mind on other things, while a firefly-Pan zoomed overhead in a failing attempt to provide some light. Will had expressively forbidden them to light a fire, fearing that it would warn off this mysterious intruder, meaning that Ryou and Lyra were permanently shaking with cold. Though Lyra had her dæmon to warm her, and Ryou was beyond caring.

Eventually Pan, tired of giving out light, became an owl, and Lyra and Ryou were unexpectedly plunged into darkness. The former gave a muffled curse as she stood up and nearly hit her dæmon.

"Pan! Why did you have to do that? We can't see anything!"

"There isn't really much to see," he commented calmly.

"Well I don't like being in total darkness! I've no idea what's happening around me! Ryou could fall down dead right now and I wouldn't know anything about it."

Beside her, she heard the white-haired teenager give a short laugh. "Like that's likely to happen." (Still, I wouldn't mind some light. Yami, can you make the Ring glow or something?)

There were numerous grumblings from Bakura's soul room at being woken up again, but then, finally, a grumpy reply. ((Fine.)) He split off, and the Ring emitted a very faint glow. "Happy now?"

"Yeah, thanks," Lyra said gratefully.

"Wasn't talking to you," the spirit muttered irritably. His hikari gave him a warning nudge, which he didn't bother to acknowledge. Reaching for the blanket that Ryou had discarded earlier, he wrapped it around himself in an effort to keep warm. After a moment, he unwrapped it and pulled some of it around his lighter half as well.

((That okay?))

A small smile. (Thank you.)

Pan had become a large dog, and was snuggling against Lyra in a similar way to Ryou and Bakura. Lyra clutched him tightly, enjoying the sensation of having a large permanently hot water bottle next to her body.

"So, what do you think that thing was that came yesterday night?" she asked conversationally. It was so tiresome not to have the alethiometer around to answer questions such as this. She wondered with a sudden pang whether she would ever see it again.

Bakura shrugged. "Who knows?" He shivered suddenly within his blanket.

"You okay?" Ryou whispered.

His yami scowled at him. "Stop fussing, Ryou. I'm fine." He shivered again, violently.

Ryou looked at him in concern but said nothing, afraid of being rebuked again.

"I…I'm just going to the toilet," Bakura said suddenly. He got up and ran off.

Ryou and Lyra stared after him. "Can he even…you know, go to the toilet and stuff?" the girl questioned in confusion. "Cos he's a spirit, right?"

"Mmm," Ryou said slowly. "I don't know what he's up to, but he used to be a better liar than that. Maybe I should go after him…" He looked up doubtfully.

"I'll do it," Pantalaimon said quickly. He changed back into a firefly and zoomed off into the darkness before anyone could protest.

………..

"Bakura?" the daemon called softly. "Are you there?"

Silence.

"Bakura, I can see you."

The spirit looked around suspiciously, not recognising the voice. "Who is it?"

"Me, Pan." The daemon alighted softly on his shoulder, changing into an owl. "What are you doing here? And why did you run off like that?"

"G-go away." The spirit pushed him off, and bent over double, clutching his stomach. "Ow…fuck…" He vomited onto the ground, and Pan could see even in the near darkness the unmistakable red tinge of blood. Exhausted, Bakura sank down onto all fours, his breaths coming out in ragged pants.

"So that's why," Pan said quietly. He changed into a tiger, and nuzzled the spirit's ear. "You need to be resting, not out here like this. Can't you go back into Ryou's head or whatever it is you do? I'm sure it'd be better for you."

Bakura gave a bitter, hacking laugh. "Yes, brilliant idea. Throw up in his head instead. At least that way there won't be anything to clean up-" He started coughing, one hand on his chest where the Ring was.

The daemon waited patiently until he stopped, gasping for air. "Shit. This isn't fair. I'm a spirit; I'm not supposed to even need to breathe, let alone feel that if I start coughing like that again I'll probably die from lack of oxygen or some other crap." He clutched the Ring as if he wanted to tear it off.

Pan licked his face gently, tasting salty moisture. The spirit sighed and looked at him, a dark figure almost indistinguishable from the blackness around them.

"Why are you even here anyway?"

"I came to look for you. Ryou was going to go but I said I would instead."

"Oh. Thanks." Bakura stared off into nothingness. "I wouldn't want him to find me like…like this." He started shaking again as another spasm of pain began to make itself known. Pan turned into a puppy and nipped his finger, very gently. Pale fingers came up and scratched the furry ears, as Pan's tail thumped a little in the darkness.

Eventually he whispered, "We should go back now. You can't stay here forever, you know." He tugged at Bakura's shirt.

The spirit nodded slowly. He put one hand in front of him and carefully straightened up. Pan could see his outline quivering.

"Just…just one moment." Bakura turned away, chest hitching, and was sick again. The vomit hit the ground with less force this time, but he was struggling to breathe even more than before.

"Okay. L-lets go."

Pan jumped up into his arms, and the spirit held him close against his shirt. "Huh. At least you're warm."

"And you're freezing," the daemon responded. "We should go back to Lyra and Ryou now. You're not going to feel any better, especially if you go away like this."

"I know that," Bakura said testily. He glared at the furry bundle in his arms.

Pan felt the force of his glare as though it had been physical. "Look, I appreciate you don't want him to see you in pain. But it hurts him more if you just leave him like that."

"I suppose." Bakura tried to feel if he was strong enough to make the Ring light up, and after a few seconds of effort was able to produce a tiny glow. Not capable of fully penetrating the darkness, it showed the ground just in front of him, and so would probably prevent any major accidents.

………….

"Yami?" Ryou saw to his immense relief that the approaching figure wore a faintly glowing light around his neck.

Bakura stooped down, letting Pantalaimon leap from his arms to Lyra's. The girl gave him a look of something that wasn't quite jealousy, as she cradled her daemon possessively.

(Are…are you feeling any better?) he ventured nervously.

((Not really. I'm going to go back into the Ring and sleep now, okay?))

(Okay.)

Seeing he had something else to say, Bakura waited.

Ryou hesitated, before asking him, (Did…did you throw up?)

For a moment the spirit was tempted to lie, then decided against it. ((Yes.))

(Oh.) Ryou was silent. Then, just as his yami was about to disappear back into the Ring, he whispered, (Good…good night…)

Bakura gave a small smile, just for a moment, and hugged him as tightly as he could. Then he vanished.

((See you in the morning.))

………………

Ouija Board: DEA

"What time is it?"

Lyra checked her watch for the umpteenth time. "Half past five."

Groans from all round greeted this remark. The night had passed without event, and they were bored out of their minds. By twenty past two they had run out of things to talk about. Worse, at quarter to four they had run out of tea. Ryou felt as if he would have to hold his eyelids up with matchsticks just to stay awake. He promised himself that once this was over he was going to get a minimum of twelve hours sleep a night for the rest of his life.

"What time is it now?"

"Twenty eight minutes to six." Lyra groaned and massaged her eye sockets, trying to get rid of the massive bags she knew were there. "Pan, if I fall asleep you'll have to wake me up."

"But if you fall asleep I'll be asleep too."

"Oh shut up."

…………….

"Six o'clock." The word was said amidst a gigantic yawn, as Ryou automatically put his hand up to his mouth. His yami had fallen asleep hours ago. Lyra had somehow summoned the energy to perform a victory dance with her daemon, who was drooping in her arms.

Malik was climbing out of his sleeping bag, the most infuriating grin imaginable on his face. "Heh. I don't think I ever slept so well in my entire life." He smirked at Ryou, who stared blearily back. "Good morning, Ryou!"

"Good night," the white-haired teenager mumbled. He half-fell into his blankets, eyes already closed, but Malik grabbed one end and tipped him off.

"Wakey wakey!" he said in a sing-song voice. Ryou groaned and reached pathetically for his sleeping bag, which Malik pulled away.

"Breakfast time!"

"Not…hungry…"

"Nonsense. Nothing like a bit of food inside you to wake you up. What are you going to have?"

"Nothing. Must have sleep…"

"We'll soon fix that." Malik grabbed a bucket of water which they were using for washing, and tipped it over Ryou's head. The Ring-bearer stood there in disbelief, water dripping from his sodden clothes.

"My God, I hate you."

"That's the sort of attitude I like!" Malik said cheerfully. He looked around for another bucket. Ryou took this opportunity to climb into Malik's sleeping bag, and fell instantly asleep.

Malik turned, and realised his victim had disappeared. "Ryou?" His eyes fell on his sleeping bag, which was now soaking wet. "Wha-what? You bastard!"

Ryou smiled sleepily. "That's the sort of attitude I like."

………………

A/N: I know this chapter was short (just under 3000 words) but the next chapter and the one after are the BIG ones. And by that I don't necessarily mean in length, but in content. You know, the ones which make you go 'Ohhhhhhh! So that's why so-and-so happened!' So watch this space…